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Tag: Gregory Mair

SolarBuzz Jamaica > Blog Classic > Gregory Mair
Alternative Energy Electricity Government News Solar Energy

Get Green! – Opposition Spokesman Mair Proposes All Gov’t Buildings Be Solar Powered

June 3, 2013

Opposition spokesman on Industry, Commerce and Energy Gregory Mair is proposing that the administration make it mandatory for all government buildings to be fitted with solar photovoltaic systems.

“Every government building must have solar panels energising their lights, fans and other equipment. Not only will it bring savings in foreign exchange used by JPS to purchase fuel, but it will also reduce the electricity bills of Government and stimulate the growth of an industry of which Jamaica could become the Caribbean leader,” Mair pointed out during his contribution, last week, to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament.

He also wants the Government to introduce policy to make it compulsory for solar photovoltaic systems to be installed in government-related schemes.

“Let the Government drive demand in solar energy. If done properly, we could see an industry where we have solar photovoltaic panels and solar heating assembly plants exporting to the Caribbean and, by extension, the world,” he added.

Discussing how this project could become a reality, Mair said the Government should make the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) more efficient.

“As we are aware, the PCJ is funded by the one per cent commission earned from the sale of fuel to Petrojam. The PCJ does not require all this funding and the majority of it should be dedicated to building this industry. It is a win-win all around,” Mair explained.

Turning to the PetroCaribe agreement, Mair argued that Jamaica could pay for fuel purchased under this accord with goods made locally, not only manufactured items but also produce.

According to Mair, Article IV of the PetroCaribe agreement states, among other things, that, “With regard to deferred payments, Venezuela shall be able to accept that the partial payments be done with products, goods and/or services, previously agreed by the parties, based on preferential rates proposed by the Government of Jamaica.”

He noted that Venezuela imported a lot of products and Jamaica had failed to take advantage of this clause of the PetroCaribe deal.

“Our Government should meet with our counterparts in Venezuela, like many other countries have, and agree on the goods we will be selling them in exchange for their fuel. Once this is done, Government should encourage the establishment and expansion of the industries that will capitalise on this arrangement,” the opposition spokesman stated.

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Alternative Energy Electricity Government News Solar Energy

Get Green! – Opposition Spokesman Mair Proposes All Gov’t Buildings Be Solar Powered

June 3, 2013

Opposition spokesman on Industry, Commerce and Energy Gregory Mair is proposing that the administration make it mandatory for all government buildings to be fitted with solar photovoltaic systems.

“Every government building must have solar panels energising their lights, fans and other equipment. Not only will it bring savings in foreign exchange used by JPS to purchase fuel, but it will also reduce the electricity bills of Government and stimulate the growth of an industry of which Jamaica could become the Caribbean leader,” Mair pointed out during his contribution, last week, to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament.

He also wants the Government to introduce policy to make it compulsory for solar photovoltaic systems to be installed in government-related schemes.

“Let the Government drive demand in solar energy. If done properly, we could see an industry where we have solar photovoltaic panels and solar heating assembly plants exporting to the Caribbean and, by extension, the world,” he added.

Discussing how this project could become a reality, Mair said the Government should make the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) more efficient.

“As we are aware, the PCJ is funded by the one per cent commission earned from the sale of fuel to Petrojam. The PCJ does not require all this funding and the majority of it should be dedicated to building this industry. It is a win-win all around,” Mair explained.

Turning to the PetroCaribe agreement, Mair argued that Jamaica could pay for fuel purchased under this accord with goods made locally, not only manufactured items but also produce.

According to Mair, Article IV of the PetroCaribe agreement states, among other things, that, “With regard to deferred payments, Venezuela shall be able to accept that the partial payments be done with products, goods and/or services, previously agreed by the parties, based on preferential rates proposed by the Government of Jamaica.”

He noted that Venezuela imported a lot of products and Jamaica had failed to take advantage of this clause of the PetroCaribe deal.

“Our Government should meet with our counterparts in Venezuela, like many other countries have, and agree on the goods we will be selling them in exchange for their fuel. Once this is done, Government should encourage the establishment and expansion of the industries that will capitalise on this arrangement,” the opposition spokesman stated.

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Electricity Government JPS News

Reducefuel Prices For AllJamaicans – Mair

May 30, 2013

GREGORY MAIR, the opposition spokesman on energy, is pushing for a level playing field in the pricing of heavy fuel oil sold by Petrojam to the bauxite industry as against the Jamaica Public Service (JPS), and, by extension, the Jamaican consumer.

In his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Mair contended that players in the bauxite industry purchased heavy fuel oil from Petrojam for 15 per cent less than the state-owned oil refinery sells to the light and power company.

“Why don’t we level the playing field, have a real competitive environment in the fuel sector and give JPS, and, by extension, the consumers of electricity, the same status as the alumina/bauxite producers,” Mair asserted.

According to Mair, the Bauxite and Alumina Industries (Encouragement) Act, exempts alumina and bauxite producers from paying customs duty or similar imposition on the importation of petrol fuel oil or diesel.

“Let JPS initiate a tender process where all providers of HFO/ADO (heavy fuel oil/automotive diesel oil) in the world will compete and where we will see the consumers of electricity benefiting from close to a 15 per cent reduction of the fuel cost, which would be approximately 10 per cent of our bills.

Bauxite industry enjoys reduced rates

I say this based on information I have in my possession. The bauxite industry purchases HFO 15 per cent cheaper than JPS,” Mair told his parliamentary colleagues.

He explained that the HFO used in the generation of electricity is purchased by JPS from Petrojam at a cost of some $6 billion per month.

Turning to electricity theft, Mair wants the crafting of legislation to impose stiffer fines on persons involved in the illegal act.

“The Government must sit down with JPS and agree on a clearly defined strategy for tackling the theft of electricity,” Mair said, noting that it was costing legal customers of JPS about $3 billion annually for illegal connections. The JPS is said to absorb a similar sum each year.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com

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Government News

Energy Council To Take Power-Supply Bids

May 3, 2013

The Jamaica Energy Council (JEC) is to hold talks on the selection process for the three bidders for the construction of a 360-megawatt generating plant.

Phillip Paulwell, minister of science, technology, energy and mining, has directed that the agenda for the next meeting, scheduled for Friday, May 17, include a presentation by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) on the process for selecting the enterprise for the plant.

The announcement of the meeting follows a request from Opposition Spokesman on Industry Gregory Mair, who told the minister that a meeting was necessary to ensure “transparency and good governance“.

Mair requested that at the meeting of the JEC, the OUR be asked to explain the process by which it would engage the three bidders and if it would consider the late proposal, and if so, why.

Mair said also that the OUR must be made to state whether the 30 days would be sufficient to make a final decision and on what basis a bid would be selected as the winning proposal.

Mair said he also expected that the OUR would defend the winning proposal before the JEC board prior to the final recommendation being sent to Cabinet.

“This, in my opinion, will allow the private sector, the Opposition, and other stakeholders to understand the procedure and participate in this critical national project and, as such, ensure that we are all satisfied that the process was transparent, fair, and that all stakeholders are supportive of the final recommendation going to Cabinet,” Mair said.

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Government News

Paulwell Hits Back At Mair

January 11, 2013

Phillip Paulwell
Phillip Paulwell

THE MECHANISM used by the state-owned oil refinery Petrojam to set weekly gas prices has sparked a verbal exchange between Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell and his opposition counterpart Gregory Mair.

This after Mair, in a statement released on Wednesday, criticised Paulwell for, among other things, failing to address what the opposition spokesman asserted was a lack of transparency in Petrojam’s pricing mechanism.

But at a Gleaner Editors’ Forum on Wednesday, the minister revealed that Mair has missed two opportunities to have the process explained to him by Petrojam.

He said, when Mair first raised the concern, he brought it to the attention of the National Energy Council, of which the opposition spokesman is a member, and an emergency meeting was arranged to “fit Mr Mair’s schedule”.

“The first time we put on the table, he said he could not make it. So we shifted everybody and we arranged a special meeting of the energy council where Petrojam gave a detailed presentation on its energy pricing,” he explained.

“Mr Mair did not attend the meeting … I am disappointed with Gregory, because he is now an established member of the Energy Council,” he added.

However, in a swift response, a strident Mair acknowledged missing the meetings, but insisted “I am not the person they should explain it (the pricing mechanism) to, it’s the people of Jamaica.”

“What we want to know is the actual numbers used to arrive at the prices. If there is nothing to hide, why can’t the public know the formula,” he insisted.

Mair criticised the energy minister for failing to act on several issues that could reduce energy costs to Jamaicans.

One of those issues, he noted, was that “to date, there is no transparency in the fuel pricing mechanism used by Petrojam.”

“Any unfair pricing is inevitably a cost to the Jamaican people and not the Government, as it is the consumer that pays for the fuel,” Mair said.

“This is made worse given the fact that the Office of Utility Regulation stated publicly that Petrojam had been overcharging for fuel for electricity generation over an extended period,” he added.

 

livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com

Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell.

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Government LNG News Oil

Government won’t abandon LNG

October 3, 2012

THE Government says that it is withdrawing from the fuel source selection process to focus on creating a legislative and regulatory energy framework this fiscal year.

However, Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell told the House of Representative yesterday that the Government has not abandoned plans to introduce Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) into Jamaica by 2015.

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell

He said that plans are well advanced for the introduction of LNG, but given the result of the bidding process, the Government has determined that it has taken the matter as far as it can go. He added that it was also the Government’s view that private electricity and alumina producers would have much more flexibility in procuring fuel supplies and use their international leverage to get the best possible prices.

However, “as a Government, we (will) continue to support and facilitate private investors as we work together to achieve the best possible solutions,” Paulwell said.

He stated that the LNG committee will be immediately disbanded and replaced with a body that includes members of the Jamaica Energy Council, the Office of Utilities and his ministry.

“With the termination of the work of the LNG steering committee, there will be no need to access the remaining US$2.6 million that was originally budgeted,” he explained in reference to the fact that the Government has already spent US$2.8 million of the US$5.4-million proposed budget for the LNG project.

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Government LNG News Oil

Government won’t abandon LNG

October 3, 2012

THE Government says that it is withdrawing from the fuel source selection process to focus on creating a legislative and regulatory energy framework this fiscal year.

However, Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell told the House of Representative yesterday that the Government has not abandoned plans to introduce Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) into Jamaica by 2015.

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell

He said that plans are well advanced for the introduction of LNG, but given the result of the bidding process, the Government has determined that it has taken the matter as far as it can go. He added that it was also the Government’s view that private electricity and alumina producers would have much more flexibility in procuring fuel supplies and use their international leverage to get the best possible prices.

However, “as a Government, we (will) continue to support and facilitate private investors as we work together to achieve the best possible solutions,” Paulwell said.

He stated that the LNG committee will be immediately disbanded and replaced with a body that includes members of the Jamaica Energy Council, the Office of Utilities and his ministry.

“With the termination of the work of the LNG steering committee, there will be no need to access the remaining US$2.6 million that was originally budgeted,” he explained in reference to the fact that the Government has already spent US$2.8 million of the US$5.4-million proposed budget for the LNG project.

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